Fate
by shaunamariec
Summary: Lauren Branning was a troubled teenager who often turned to drink but art saved her, what are the odds when the one who wants to sell her work meets her on the way? She thinks her worlds changed for the better.. until the reality hit homes and possibly ruins her life forever..
1. Chapter 1

**My first attempt at a proper full story on fanfiction! If you like Lauren & Joey – hope you enjoy it! If you don't, I wouldn't read! Let me know what you think :-)**

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LAURENS POV;

This is it, I'm finally getting out of Walford. Away from the mess that I am supposed to call home. Maybe this is actually it, maybe this is what's going point my in the right direction and somehow show me that my life is meant to be. Someone had seen my work and wanted to meet with me immediately, but boy was I nervous.

I had always been insecure about my art work but when I got the phone call from my boss telling me that someone was interested in selling it I knew I had to do it, so I accepted straight away. However, doing this meant that I would have to stay in Barcelona for a little over a month which I was more than ecstatic about. I love Walford, I really do, but the people there and the drama constantly on a high had made my life a living hell these past few years.

Growing up I was always the centre of attention, the apple of my parents eyes, and when I wasn't I made sure I did something that would put me there, but it all changed when they moved my younger sister, Abi and I onto Albert Square.

I always seemed to be doing everything wrong, always being judged for expressing my emotion, apparently it was best to keep your feelings to yourself around here which I eventually learnt as every little mistake I made, made me the talk of the square and I hated it.

It led me to become this miserable, rude, emotional teenager. I turned to alcohol, allowed my friends to drift away from me, disappointed my parents and had a slight problem with alcohol which eventually developed into a big problem causing me to almost end my own life on more than one occasion, but I was done with that now. That was the old me, the new me is a completely different person, well, when she wants to be.

Anyway, it's time to get away, it may only be for a few weeks but I cannot wait. Hopefully this won't be my last art gig, being able to get out of Walford for good would be a dream come true, I have nothing but bad memories in this place and that is exactly where they should stay, left behind.

That's enough of my past for now though as it was almost time to say goodbye to my parents and younger siblings before one of my best friend's (and previous fling) Tyler, whisked me off to the airport.

"Oh darling are you sure you're going to be ok in a completely new country by yourself for almost four weeks?" my possessive Mum, Tanya asked, clearly unsure on whether or not I am capable of looking after myself for that length of time.

"Mum, I'll be fine yeah? I am 20 years old, I am more than capable of cooking a few meals for myself and remembering to brush my teeth twice a day," I answered her with a cheekily sarcastic grin on my face.

"Well you just make sure you look after yourself over there won't you and call me as soon as you land and when you check into your hotel!" she demanded before trying to suffocate me in a huge, I wouldn't mind but I ain't going for that long!

"Bye Lauren, have fun!" said my younger sister Abi once my Mum had finished smushing my face together.

"See ya later Abs, I'll text you if I meet any cute Spanish guys yeah?" I shot her a wink before giving her a quick hug then turning my attention to my six year old brother, Oscar.

"You are coming back aren't you Lauren?" he asked me in his cute, concerned little voice.

I ruffled his hair and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, telling him to stop being silly as I was going to be gone for too long!

After another quick hug and a few 'I love you's' I made my way outside to where my Dad was stood with his wife, Kirsty giving them both a goodbye hug before I jumped into the passenger seat of Tyler's car, nerves beginning to build up in me once he started the engine as it all suddenly became very real.

The closer we got to the end of the square the more butterflies began to build up in my stomach, why was I nervous? I was only ever this nervous when my body tried to tell me something big was going to come but I was certain that it wasn't because of Barcelona. Something much more.

"You ok babe?" Tyler asked, my face obviously a state of confusion.

"I think so, just a bit nervous, it's a whole new country!" I replied, convincing myself ever so slightly.

Tyler nodded in understanding, "I'm sure you'll be fine, you've got a good head on your shoulders and your art is amazing, you'll go places with that, Lauren."

I cocked my head side-ways with a slight smile on my face, looking at him, "When have you ever seen my art?"

"I accidentally saw it when we were seeing each other that time" Tyler smirked, neither of us feeling awkward that we were once a 'thing' and we did sleep together.

"You mean you went snooping in my bedroom?" I asked pretending to be shocked.

He laughed at me, shaking his head, "No I didn't go snooping we were in your room, your parents came home and you shoved me under the bed until they went downstairs and all of your drawings were stashed under there. There were really good Lauren, you should be proud of yourself, I know everyone else is!"

Smiling I sat back in my chair, "Thank you, that means a lot coming from you"

Tyler and I had been close ever since he arrived on the square, yeah we had a weird relationship at one point until we realised we are so much better at being friends. He's currently in a relationship with one of my best friends Whitney but right now I would say that Tyler is my ultimate best friend and I don't have many friends! We always confide in each other when we're confused or conflicted about something and we've always been able to trust one another.

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We arrived at London Gatwick an hour, I said my goodbyes to Tyler I entered the airport and headed for check-in. Once I had checked in my bags and gone through security I decided on coffee and went to the Starbucks. After ordering my white mocha latte to take out I headed for the terminal that my plane would be leaving from so I could get a decent window seat as it was first come first served.

I buried my head in the book I brought with me for the journey, ignoring everyone that came into the terminal and took a seat somewhere around me. I heard the guy that tells people the first class passengers can start boarding and once they're settled we can join the plane.

"Is there a Miss Lauren Branning on board?" I heard just as I got comfortable once I had boarded, what the hell had I done now?

Standing up I awkwardly raised my hand, "Yes?"

The flight attendant walked up to row of seats that I was sat on and asked, "Can you come with me please Miss Branning?"

Confused, I collected my things and stepped out onto the aisle, "May I ask why?"

"We've been asked to upgrade you to business class" they told me as though it was nothing.

I stopped walked, stunned by what I had just heard, "Excuse me?"

"I said you've been upgrade-"

"I know, I heard you but why? And by who?" I cut him off.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "You shall find out in due course. Now if you would please follow me, we can get you settled and order you some refreshments on Mr Branan."

Still shocked I began following the male again until he led me to two seats, the one closest to the window already occupied.

"If you would take a seat Miss, someone will be with you soon to order refreshments before take off" the attendant said before wondering off.

Ignoring the person who I would be sitting next to for the next two hours or so I sat down on the comfiest plane chair I have ever sat on and just slouched into it. I was seriously starting to feel the previous nights rough sleep.

I played with my hair and looked around the first class section of the plane, trying to understand why I was hear in the first place until the ruffling of the newspaper made me jump slightly, causing me to look to my left just to be met with the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes that I had ever laid eyes upon.

Great, I quickly thought to myself, just what I needed to make me feel even more uncomfortable for the duration of this journey. After realising I was starring I gave an awkward smile and looked away as soon as I could.

"First time flying?" The stranger asked, taking me completely off guard.

"Uh, no" I replied, could this get any more awkward?

"Would you be more comfortable if we switched seats?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

He smiled coyly making my heart sink, what the hell Lauren?

"Would you like to sit by the window? I don't mind, honestly." He said, sitting forward as though he was about to leave his seat.

I smiled shyly at him, "Are you sure?"

He stood up with a huge grin on his face, waiting until I sat down in the window seat until he placed himself in my previous seat.

"Thank you" I mumbled quietly, shooting him another small smile.

"It's no problem. I'm Joey, by the way."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2;

**Sorry for the delay, I will be slack with updates for a while, got a lot on at the moment! By the way, there will eventually be some from Joey's point of view soon!**

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LAUREN'S POV;

"I'm Joey, by the way."

He waited for my response, my lips unable to move as I stared at his gorgeous brown orbs.

What the hell was happening to me? I haven't been like this around a man in a long time! Snap out of it Lauren!

Smiling I held out my hand to him, "Lauren"

"I figured"

"You did?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly confused.

He nodded and then pointed to my knee where a book laid with a bookmark that I had since I was about eight sticking out reading 'Lauren' at the top, "Unless you have a sister and that's her bookmark" he said, smirking slightly.

I laughed a little, lightly blushing when I noticed that he was still smiling at me.

"So, business or pleasure?"

"Excuse me?" I questioned, stunned.

"Barcelona.." He replied with confusion.

"Oh! Little bit of both I suppose, mainly for business but I can't wait to see the city, how about you?" I asked a little embarrassed at jumping to conclusions.

Was I even jumping to conclusions? You're confusing yourself, Lauren.

He smiled at me once more before answering "Business."

I was about to reply when the flight attendant began telling everyone on board to fasten their seatbelts before they go through the safety procedures so that the plane is able to set off soon after.

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Once we were in the air I felt a lot more at ease knowing it was only two hours before we were back on solid ground again but all I could think about was how something just wasn't right and I couldn't decide if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling.

That was until several flight attendants began walking around the plane, stopping at different seats, one eventually stopping by the guy sat next to me.

"Excuse me but may I ask what the fuss is all about?" Joey asked the lady as I watched on confused, how did I not notice that there was a fuss?

The flight attendant looked at Joey sympathetically before glancing at me and then back at him, "We're sorry to bring you bad news but as we said during take off, there was a spot of bad weather in Barcelona and there was nothing to worry about.. Well it seems that the storm has become far more extreme than they had expected therefore we are going to try and land the plane in the closest unaffected airport once we enter Spain. We are sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause for yourself and your travel arrangements but the pilot needs to keep all passengers safe. Do you have any questions?"

Joey sighed, running his hands down his face, seeming ever so calm whilst I was silently freaking out, "May I make a phone call please?"

"Of course you can, Sir!" she told him, then left once I shook my head, not knowing what to do.

I leaned forward, placing my face in my hands and my elbows on my knees, what the hell was I going to do? My hotel wasn't far from the airport so I was only planning on calling a taxi once I had landed.

Feeling the light weight of someone else's hand on top of mine broke my miserable trance, looking up I saw the handsome man next to me look into my eyes sympathetically, "Are you going to be ok? Do you need to make a phone call or is there anything I can help you with?"

Shaking my head I slumped back into my chair, "I have no idea what to do. It's my first time flying solo and I'm only staying in the hotel by the airport so I was just going to get a taxi as it's not that far at all and now I just don't know what to do or how the hell I am going to get anywhere near to where I need to be in Barcelona so I'm freaking out right now, how the hell am I supposed to get there?" I said ever so quickly not realising til after that I was stressing out on a complete stranger.

"Hey hey, Lauren, calm down, I can help you with that. If you trust me." He said, trying to settle me down as I really was beginning to freak out a little more that I expected too.

I sighed heavily, unable to decide if I could trust him or not, figuring there was only one way to know what he meant, "How so?"

"I'm also not staying that far from the airport in Barcelona. I've just spoken to my driver who said he'll contact whoever he needs to collect me from wherever we're going to land and take me straight to where I need to be so if you would like, to save you from the stress and obviously, if you trust me, you can ride with me if you like?" His eyes not leaving mine once, allowing me to realise just how genuine he was being right now.

"Are you sure?" We're the only words that I could let leave my lips, I honestly had no other choice than to trust him, I mean seriously, how else was I supposed to get to Barcelona?

Nodding, the brown eyed man took my hand in his, staring deeply into my eyes and squeezed gently, "You'll be fine, I promise"

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**Sorry it's a little short but I promised to have it up and I need my sleep as I'll be up at six with my niece! Enjoy & comment!**


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